In The Key of B Sharp
by Flamedancer33
Summary: Character study: 100 words for 100 prompts; all about Balthazar as we know him now and as he was before.
1. Chapter 1

One hundred words for each of the one hundred prompts, as inspired by the Balthy 100 forum. In which I lurk, because that's what I do. This is only the first twenty I did, because I realized after prompt two that if I honestly tried to go in numerical order they'd find me hiding in the cabinet eating my shoelaces. The others will go up, still in groups of twenty, as I get them done. These are not meant to be little stories; they're snippets, like pieces taken from a longer story that can stand alone. Sometimes they begin or end kind of awkwardly, to which I say: _you_ try it, if you think you can do better.

note: this is one hundred words by the measure of microsoft word, so if you disagree with the exact number of words in each prompt, a) you have way too much time on your hands and b) it's not my fault.

note two: no, the title makes no sense to me either, it just appealed to me.

note three: forgive my crappy formatting, this site is eating my normal stuff and I'm still trying to figure out what the hell is going on.

note four: the number in 69 is a rounded number, arrived at by guesswork and hasty math done on the computer calculator. My figures will probably disagree with others. At this point, I honestly do not care.

disclaimer: me no own.

#

1. Arcana Cabana

He got the store because he was tired of wandering, of running and hunting and chasing. Also, like any sorcerer, he tended to collect junk with any connection to the arcane. New York was a busy enough place to settle and disappear into the crowd and still be looking out for the Prime Merlinian, if a bit passively. He was tired, truth be told, and more frequently feeling every second of his thousand-plus years. It was nice to have someplace steady to go home to.

Because he thought Veronica would have found it funny, he called it the Arcana Cabana.

.

2. Trousers

"They have funny patterns on them and everything."

Balthazar ran a hand over his knee, trying not to bristle. "I'm not asking you to wear them, Dave," he said semi-patiently. Sometimes he hated this century. More specifically, he hated the kids this century produced.

"No, but you're… out in public..." Dave wisely trailed off, gesturing helplessly. Balthazar pinned him with a merciless glare.

"With you?" he finished. Dave started to nod but stopped. "I'm not related to you, Dave, and you're not sixteen. My pants should not be that big a source of embarrassment to you, patterned or not."

.

6. Unicorn

The unicorn skull was one of the very few things Balthazar collected that had actual bearing on his profession. Matter of fact, it was probably the most expensive thing in his store. Unicorns, not the smartest of creatures, were increasingly hard to find, and with proper preparations the horn was a wonderful focusing tool. An intact skull was worth its weight in gold, or more.

All of this flew through Balthazar's mind in half a second. Compared to the worth of the Prime Merlinian, though, a unicorn skull was nothing.

He wrenched the horn off and turned to face Horvath.

.

10. Evil

There was something foul on the night breeze, a soft whisper he couldn't quite make out. Balthazar leaned out the window and caught a hint of smoke. Behind him, Merlin was moving about busily, muttering to himself.

"What is it?" Balthazar asked, when he thought he'd get an answer.

"Morgana," Merlin said. Balthazar turned at his tone. There was an unfamiliar look on Merlin's face. "I haven't told you, yet, the reason I took on apprentices."

Balthazar waited. He was good at that.

"There is evil out there," Merlin said softly. "And you are going to help me defeat it."

.

17. Cookie

After a thousand-plus years, a man tended to pick up a sense of diplomacy. After all, Balthazar was ageless, not immortal, and an insulted woman is a dangerous thing in any era.

So he didn't spit out the bite of whatever-it-was, although his gulping down half a bottle of water probably wasn't very subtle.

"Are they that bad?" Becky asked Dave, who was turning an interesting shade of red.

She wasn't Balthazar's girlfriend; this wasn't his problem. Balthazar took another sip and glanced at the tin Becky was holding.

Cookies as lethal weapons. Now he truly had seen it all.

.

21. Eagle

They finished the Chrysler Building in 1930; Balthazar was only interested in one part.

The eagles on the sixty-first floor corners were massive, easily big enough to carry two or three people. Big and impressive and majestic, they instantly appealed to him. Three years after the completion of the building he finally wandered up to the proper floor and stood on an eagle's broad neck for more than twenty minutes, watching the sun set and the city light up.

It didn't really surprise him when the steel eagle, broad wings spread wide in flight, became something of his calling card.

.

23. Dragon

The air was blistering hot, which made sense now, and dry as bone. Balthazar carefully tucked himself into a ball against an oven-hot rock, trying to make as little noise as possible. It was difficult; he'd taken a solid blow across the chest that, if he was lucky, had broken only a few ribs.

Merlin was going to be furious. So would Veronica, who always had an unkind word for them when they nearly got themselves killed. And Balthazar himself had a few things to say to Maxim.

But not before he _murdered_ whoever had declared dragons to be extinct.

.

28. Heaven

The old man gave him a ring, a jeweled thing that looked ridiculous against his small seven-year-old hand, and asked him if he could do something special, something impossible. What he did made no difference; the jewel glowed, green-yellow like a cat's eye, and the old man smiled.

His brother gladly traded him for a handful of coins so he left with the old man, balanced carefully in the saddle. They rode to a castle, where two other children ran out and greeted him with smiles.

Thus began the happiest time in the very long life of Balthazar Blake.

.

30. Peace

There was a certain quietness descended over the lab, a sort of contentment only achievable by two people completely at ease in each other's presence. Balthazar was settled on the couch, back against one arm and heels propped on the other, only half focused on his book, mind mostly offline. Dave wandered around the lab, organizing in one place and working on homework in another, moving more because he couldn't decide what to do than for any real sense of urgency to get something done.

It was a peaceful, sleepy sort of mood, and Balthazar wished it would never end.

.

34. Castle

"Have you ever been to Scotland, Balthazar?"

"We called it Alba, back then," he replied, not bothering to look up.

"Have you been to Edinburgh Castle?"

Balthazar looked up then, studying the two kids. Becky was armed with a laptop. Dave was watching him with wide eyes.

"Once," he said finally, slowly. "When Merlin was still alive."

Becky made an 'oh' sound and visibly retreated. "We were just curious…"

Dave was shaking his head, divorcing himself from the 'we'. Balthazar turned away from them and returned to work, visions of Scotland's emerald lands and Edinburgh's beautiful castle haunting him still.

.

40. Minion

The Morganians of this century were not impressing Balthazar.

Drake Stone, this one's name was, and according to Google-via-Dave he was some sort of celebrity. Balthazar almost felt sorry for Horvath, fresh out of the Grimhold and having to rely on this sort of nonsense. He also almost felt sorry for Stone, although anyone foolish enough to trust Horvath earned their fate.

Still, after Morgana, Balthazar tracked Stone down to a private hospital in Albany and paid for the kid's medical bills. With his magic severely decreased and his ring missing, Drake Stone had hard times in his future.

.

44. Nemesis

Ever since the death of Merlin, Balthazar had set his standard by Horvath's measure. True, they were now enemies, but once they had been friends, and they were almost perfectly matched in every regard. Horvath was the carrot and the stick, eternally driving Balthazar to do his best, _be_ his best. When Horvath was finally sealed in the Grimhold, Balthazar lost the drive to make every day mean something.

Which was why he smiled when he whipped his car around the corner to find himself facing a garbage truck. They were back on even ground; now, winning would mean something.

.

49. 777

"No."

Dave started to protest the general unfairness of Balthazar's damn honor code, but swallowed the words. He had once asked if Balthazar's moral compass pointed north. Now he knew better.

Instead, he tried a different tact. "They're not exactly boy scouts, Balthazar. They basically stole it first."

"So stealing from thieves is acceptable?" Balthazar asked, realized the futility, and retreated to the safer ground of Because I Said So. "No."

Dave groaned- there was no budging Balthazar when he got that tone- and glanced mournfully at the casino billboard on the side of the road.

So many lost opportunities…

.

50. Quarterstaff

"You're joking, right? I mean, you have to be. You can't be serious."

"How many times," Balthazar said, patiently tapping the staff against the ground, "have you seen me win a fight using only magic?"

Dave opened his mouth to answer, shut it again after a moment. Finally he sputtered a reply. "That's different, you're… you. I can't do this!"

"That's why we're starting with these," his master answered, hefting his staff. "Instead of swords."

Perhaps a bit pointed, but it got the message across. Dave shifted, bracing himself for the beating he knew was to come.

He wasn't disappointed.

.

52. Mask

Merlinians are bad liars.

It's just a part of who they are, as much as the disregarding of all rules is the most basic tenant of Morganians. There is no written rule declaring that as one of their traits; it simply _is_.

After lifetimes of lying, Balthazar got the hang of it. Those who knew him well knew better, for Balthazar learned only to be harder to read, not a better liar. Still, those who knew him were few enough.

Sometimes, he paused to take his own measure. He quickly stopped that. He didn't like how Morganian he was becoming.

.

59. Candy

Most holidays made Balthazar cringe, since he had known them both before and after commercialism, but Halloween was worst. There was an element of truth in every myth, after all, and things always got weird. Especially around sorcerers.

Which was why he protested loudly when he saw the pumpkin sitting at the end of the driveway. Veronica overruled him without saying a word, as she always did, and he ended up on the porch with a bowl.

He decided, after chasing off a third goblin with a well-aimed Tootsie Roll and a swift spell, that he really hated Halloween.

.

69. Subconscious

Four hundred sixty-three thousand, eight hundred and twenty-eight days.

He wasn't actively counting the days, the hours, the very seconds. He didn't have to. Some small part of him was keeping track. Sometimes the numbers blurred a little, the days and months running into each other. Other times it seemed like he had nothing better to do than to listen to the clock ticking away in the back of his mind.

When Dave asked if he knew what it was like to wait for the woman he loved, he almost laughed.

Not at all, Dave. He didn't have a clue.

.

74. Retribution

Intellectually Balthazar knew being sealed in an urn for ten years paled in comparison to Horvath's near-century, or Veronica's millennium-plus. Still, there was something ironic to Merlin's apprentices all being sealed into decorative objects, and all by Balthazar's hand.

Not that Horvath was interested in irony. After pointing out how fitting it was that the keeper of the Grimhold ended up sealed away himself, he huddled into his own corner and spent his time muttering over something.

Balthazar merely waited patiently. His term would soon be up, and he had a Prime Merlinian to track down and train.

.

83. Mirror

Balthazar gazed at the mirror in front of him, eyebrows rising.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because it's cool," Dave replied, one hand steadying the floor-length mirror. "And because I need to know how to fight other sorcerers, not just… you know, get lucky."

He agreed with the latter, even if the first part was a bit weak. "And how many other sorcerers do you plan on fighting, Dave?"

"There are still Morganians out there, right? And you can't always be there to bail me out." Pause. "Please, Balthazar?"

He really should know better.

"You'll need another mirror to get out."

.

96. Suspension

The bridge bucked under Balthazar, knocking him over. He was back on his feet instantly. He had left everything, except the Grimhold and Merlin's ring, in his car on the mainland. It was safer there.

In the middle of the new bridge they were calling Golden Gate, Horvath stood watching. He couldn't see Balthazar, but he knew his old rival was out there. He rapped his cane again and the bridge twisted like a living thing. He loved this modern age.

Balthazar kept his feet, barely, and staggered forward. His sweaty grip on the Grimhold tightened.

Now or never, Horvath.


	2. Chapter 2

I start this one on such a pleasant note: DEATH. Right in your face and everything. A couple of these have a mild religious tone. Try not to get offended, it's meant in good spirit and intends no harm. Also a few of these, especially number 27- Love- are offered with tongue firmly planted in cheek and irony in great supply.

Also, because it's been noted, the challenge itself doesn't actually have a word limit. I did that to myself. Although if you think you can do this, more power to you.

Disclaimer: me no own.

#

5. Death

When a man looks his own demise in the eye, he tends to measure the value of his life. Most of Balthazar's was spent waiting- waiting for the Prime Merlinian, waiting for a chance to free Veronica. And now, after all his waiting, he was suddenly out of time.

He traced the chain with one finger, touching it almost reverently. It was almost as old as he was. He refolded the cloth around it and wrote his note, leaving both on Dave's desk.

The kid was in love. He would understand.

Then Balthazar walked out, to chase down his death.

.

9. Good

Had anyone asked, Becky would admit that Balthazar scared her. It was understandable- ageless all-powerful sorcerer and whatnot. He radiated power, if you knew enough to recognize it.

She would also admit that she had misjudged him. She watched him as he healed a dog run down by a careless driver. She saw the affection he bore for his apprentice- Balthazar could destroy Dave with one sentence, if he wanted, and never did.

She would always be intimidated by him, there was no changing that. But she was content to know there was a good man beneath that bristly exterior.

.

11. Nose

"Hi ullie lame oo or ish, Alla'ar."

Veronica frowned. "What was that?"

"I said, I fully blame you for this, Balthazar," Maxim repeated, lifting the rag from his bleeding nose.

Sitting apart from the other two, trying not to look guilty, Balthazar only shrugged. It had been a bad spell, although in his defense, Maxim should have been paying attention. Magic sometimes went wrong around the youngest apprentice when he was distracted, and seeing Maxim and Veronica laughing together certainly had that effect.

Veronica sighed. Young men, she had found, were often more trouble than they were worth.

.

15. Meat

"This is what, again?"

"Spam," Dave offered. "Basically a meat by-product."

"Mystery meat," Balthazar clarified. "Nobody knows what it is."

Veronica made a face of disgust; Dave scowled at his master, who was leaning against the shopping cart's handle and wondering how they'd even gotten him to agree to this. Balthazar could be as patient as the day was long, but some things were given less priority; this he was done with by row two.

"And bowl-og-na?"

"Don't," Dave snapped, heading him off, and Balthazar smiled.

Then again, this was kind of fun.

.

18. Subway

"So what are you two going to do when Dave graduates and you lose this place?" Becky asked, standing in the Merlin circle. Balthazar spared her a glance.

"Find someplace else, I suppose," he said carelessly.

"What, really?" Dave whined. "Give up this place, with all those memories?"

"Remember the mops, Dave," Balthazar said to his book.

Becky continued, gesturing at the circle. "And what are you gonna say about this?"

"Um. I... got bored?"

Balthazar closed his eyes and sighed, as if pained.

As if they ever _could_ give this place up.

.

20. Plane

They were sketches, quickly dashed onto a thick sheet of vellum, already feeling old and worn for all that the ink wasn't yet dry. Sketches of a machine that would put man, for once, on even footing with birds. They weren't practical, his sorcerer's knowledge of science told him, but they were a good first step.

The man responsible was still hunched over his work-desk, barely acknowledging his long-time friend. Balthazar gently set the pages down. He could not see the future, but he'd been around long enough to recognize genius that would last far longer than a single lifetime.

.

24. Hot Dog

Take him out someplace special, Becky said. Get to know him outside of training, she said. Try to see him for who he is normally, not who he is when world destruction is imminent.

No one had ever bothered to tell him Balthazar was a closet baseball fan. Although this certainly explained Veronica's giggling.

"Do you mind?" A twenty dollar bill hovered in front of his nose, close enough he went cross-eyed. With a groan he didn't bother to hide, he snatched it and stood up. Another hot dog run for the bottomless pit.

This was never happening again.

.

27. Love

"It's never been a problem for me."

Dave groaned and stopped pacing in front of Balthazar. "Not once? Seriously? C'mon, you can't be telling me everything's perfect with you two."

"The last time we had a fight, I sealed her in a nesting doll for a thousand years," Balthazar said dryly. Dave threw his arms into the air and resumed pacing. "Get her some flowers and apologize and it'll be fine."

"She should be apologizing, not me!"

"Or go tell her that. I'll wait here; be sure to tell me how it turns out."

.

31. Flower

There was a flowering plant growing once, so very long ago, in a British field beside a tower. A nine-year-old boy picked a flower from it and gave it to a girl he lived with; the first sign of friendship he had given her.

Well over a thousand years later, the same boy stood in a supermarket, momentarily stunned. He'd thought the plant extinct- he hadn't seen those flowers in eight hundred years. Like so many things, the exact details had gotten lost in the haze of time, but he still recognized it instantly.

He wondered if she also would.

.

36. Earth

He had seen every corner of Earth, it seemed; when he plotted out his life on a map, he lost track of where he had been for all the marks already made. There was desert and tundra, green plains and black forest, endless ocean and mountains challenging the sky.

Most days, he was too dispirited by his endless failure, but sometimes he found something that made him stop and stand in awe of the world he inhabited. Over time, he transferred that awe to the people he shared the world with.

Quite a planet, this little blue ball called Earth.

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39. Water

For all its malleable nature, water was a surprisingly uncooperative substance; it was exactly as obedient as it needed to be and no more, wanting to get back to its comings and goings as quickly as possible. Balthazar, who could out-stubborn a mule, was already frustrated with his continual failures.

He was nothing, though, compared to Veronica. She had never not gotten something on the first try, and was getting angry. Even Merlin had retreated to a tactful distance, watching his quickest apprentice soak herself time and time again.

In three years, she would have a river dance for her.

.

41. Gargoyle

The gargoyle outside his apartment window was moving.

Balthazar felt his eyebrows rise, watching as the pigeon perch ambled from one corner of the neighboring building to another. It yawned, stretched, scratched its arm, and hunkered down over nothing. It stayed there quietly, head moving side to side as if it were reading, occasionally nodding to itself. One clawed foot tapped out an unknown rhythm.

After a few minutes of this, Balthazar turned to regard his apprentice, who was poring over his Incantus, one foot tapping, ring glowing unnoticed.

"Dave?" He called out, smiling.

"What?"

"You're projecting."

.

46. Knights

They rode past, in tunics of white with a red cross splashed violently across them; Balthazar kept his face down and hood up. Most important, he kept his hands covered. These bloodthirsty pacifists knew to look for a ring when searching for a sorcerer.

Christianity was not a new religion, having been born before him. But it was gaining popularity, and with it came no tolerance for the arcane. A sword through the gut would kill him as readily as any other person. For the first time, being a sorcerer didn't buy him a free meal.

The times were changing.

.

61. Werewolf

The ringing woke him up at some ungodly hour, he didn't bother opening his eyes to see which one. He flailed a hand around blindly, hit the table, and located the phone.

"What?" he snapped.

"So. Um. Are werewolves real?"

"Yes, Dave, they are."

"Oh, good. Can you talk to them while they're, you know, wolfed?"

"I wouldn't suggest it, no."

"Okay. Thanks, Balthazar. Good night."

He sighed as he hung up, deep and long, and levered himself out of bed. Honestly, only his defective apprentice could find a werewolf in New York City.

.

63. Fairy

If catching a fairy in a jar was a really good way to upset the little pest- and it was- then laughing at a jarred fairy was even worse. Fortunately, Balthazar managed to keep a straight face. He knelt down before the little girl and respectfully took the jar. The child, who was perhaps five, was rocking back on her heels, watching him shyly; he smiled reassuringly at her.

"That's a good job, catching this," he said gently. "But I think you should let it go now, so it won't get too angry."

The fairy swore at him.

.

76. Envy

It had been a blow, the first time he'd seen Becky. More specifically, the first time he'd seen Dave see Becky. She was a pretty girl, true, but it was the lovesick look on Dave's face that really got him.

He got to walk beside her, and laugh with her, and rescue her from a mugger. Dave's world was new and shiny and full of romance and the one dark spot was Balthazar with his doomsday prophecies.

There was agony, watching him, which was acceptable, if pathetic; but there was also a burning jealousy, and Balthazar despised himself for that.

.

78. Betrayal

They'd learned of Maxim's betrayal days ago but could do little about it; winged horses wouldn't get them back any faster, and Maxim had destroyed the ensorcelled mirror Veronica had used to keep touch with Merlin.

He had sold himself to Morgana, who went now to kill his master.

It hurt like an open wound, and every thought of him was a deeper cut. Maxim had been their friend and ally. He had been one of them. Balthazar rode grim and silent, truly furious for the first time in his life.

That fury would carry him for a thousand years.

.

86. Window

By week four, Balthazar would have happily murdered someone for a window. He didn't ask for much in life, having been taught to value the most basic of necessities and leave everything else behind as dead weight. But a window wasn't too much to ask for.

He was giddy with excitement and itchy with repression; the last thing he needed was Horvath thinking the boy was something more than just the last person to have the Grimhold. Fortunately his old rival wasn't paying him much attention in an attempt to discourage conversation.

So he waited, and wished for a window.

.

92. Touch

Sometimes he regretted not being a better healer.

He stayed where he'd dropped, curled into himself on the bed, pounding head rested gently on the pillow. Migraines weren't as unusual to a sorcerer as he might hope.

There had been noise a minute ago; Veronica, getting home. Then blessed silence.

Then a touch, soft, fingers tracing carefully through his hair. She eased herself down beside him, touching him only with her fingertips, murmuring quiet nonsense while soothing him with her magic. She had the gift he lacked.

After a short time, he fell asleep, deep and dreamless and thankfully pain-free.

.

95. Origin

He didn't necessarily believe either one side or the other, but the debate itself was of considerable interest to him.

He had seen too much, lived through too much, to believe everything was blind coincidence. He also couldn't accept that some great benevolent being had actually planned for this madness. Merlin had never once spoken of the origin of everything, and nothing in the Incantus or anywhere else provided any answers, or even any pieces to puzzle together. So Balthazar was left patiently confused and mostly unconcerned, watching in amusement as people upheld their beliefs like standard-bearers marching to war.


	3. Chapter 3

A third group for your reading pleasure. This was supposed to go up, oh, about a week ago. Unfortunately my brain spazzed and said _must watch all three Lord of the Rings four times in a row now now now_ and I was capable of no rational thought other than 'damn, Faramir's kinda cute'. I apologize.

Some of these, I freely admit, I am not happy with. Others I find myself liking immensely despite being entirely improvised. My favorite so far is in this group and had no planning or forethought. In fact, it's a scribble. If this weren't a grouping of hundred-word snippets, thus allowing me to sneak in a scribble or two, I'd be sad to throw it out.

Disclaimer: me no own.

#

7. Squirrel

"I got it!"

There was a loud thump as something heavy, probably his semi-intelligent apprentice, hit the ground. Balthazar paused, coat half off, staring through the open doorway. Had he just seen some small grey thing-?

If he went in there, odds were he'd be greeted with a 'Balthazar will you do blank', with the blank being filled by 'help us catch this thing'. He thought it might be a squirrel, although how it got in the house was beyond him.

He'd seen _Caddyshack_. Deciding on the better part of valor, he pulled his coat back on and quietly left.

.

19. Coffee House

"Absolutely not."

"Could you try? Or pretend? I just want you two to get along."

"We do."

"She's scared of you, Balthazar. That's not getting along." Dave sighed. This argument was well past the point of diplomacy. "It's two hours of acting like a normal person, it won't kill you."

"Maybe not," Balthazar allowed. "But not there."

He'd told Becky this wouldn't work. It was a _coffee house_, for God's sake; as anti-Balthazar as anything could possibly be, except maybe Chucky Cheese's. It would take heavy medication and a case of amnesia to get him to voluntarily go in there.

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29. Hell

He'd fought Morgana for two hundred years and been betrayed by his closest friend. He'd watched the woman he loved sacrifice herself for him and had been forced to seal her away. He had watched his master die. For more than a thousand years, he searched alone for something he feared didn't actually exist, fighting Morganians and hiding his powers from a world that no longer believed in magic.

And there was Dave- whose problems included a girl who liked him, a master he ignored, and tame magic lessons- claiming to know what hell was. He didn't have a clue.

.

35. Lake

The old man had a strong dislike for the English, like any good Highlander, and was muttering a nonstop stream of disparaging comments in Gaelic. Balthazar ignored it.

"_Is_ there something out there?" he asked, crouching down to trail his fingers through the water.

"Mayhap. Never seen it meself."

If there was something, it was hiding from him. The loch was deep and long, if narrow; tracking anything down would require serious effort.

"Not gonna try?" the old man asked shrewdly, watching him.

Balthazar shook his head, gazing out over the serene black water.

"The world still needs its mysteries."

.

43. Bazooka

The violence of today's culture alarmed him. True, there had always been war somewhere at every point throughout his life. And the time he hailed from had been anything but peaceful. The difference was the efficiency of the weapons. In the middle ages, there was no button to push to destroy the world.

Balthazar watched as a boy carted a Nerf gun through the store that, had it been real, could have blown off a rhinoceros' head. His mother smiled and nodded in approval. Balthazar couldn't help but wonder if he'd find the Prime Merlinian before the world destroyed itself.

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47. Excalibur

If he ignored it, maybe it would go away. Or better yet, maybe he would wake up and find this was all some sort of outlandish dream. He didn't normally dream at all, but ever since Morgana's defeat his nightmares had no more fodder. Perhaps his subconscious was filling the gaps with nonsense.

He lifted his head out of his hands and pinched himself, something he had never imagined having to do. No, sadly, this wasn't a dream. Perhaps he'd finally gone insane.

"This is totally awesome," Dave said behind him, hefting the glowing sword with both hands. Balthazar groaned.

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48. Pig

"Do you really think Horvath would have turned me into a pig?"

Balthazar paused, French fry halfway to his mouth. "Pardon?"

"Back on the Chrysler building, right after you saved me from Horvath the first time. You said he'd turn me into a pig." Dave was studying his bacon cheeseburger and looking vaguely ill. Balthazar blinked. He'd said a lot of things back then, alternately trying to encourage and bully Dave into cooperating.

"If it occurred to him, he'd have been happy to. Why?" As if it weren't obvious.

"No reason," Dave replied, busy picking the bacon off his burger.

.

54. Musical

There were good things about living in New York. There were also bad ones, such as proximity to Broadway.

"How did you manage to get out of this?" Dave asked, trying to straighten his tie.

"I said I didn't want to go," Balthazar replied, calm and infuriating.

"And Veronica was okay with it?" He yanked too hard and promptly stopped breathing. Balthazar smirked but didn't answer. "You know what? It doesn't matter. I said I'd go, I'm going."

Dave started out the door but paused; Balthazar beat him to it. "Cell phone's on if you need to escape."

"Thank you."

.

58. Popcorn

The movies weren't a recent phenomenon by normal standards. To the local ageless sorcerer, though, they were a relatively new and pointless distraction. Just one more thing for the average American consumer to waste money they didn't have on.

This he thought until Becky, who was far wiser than her age would imply, suggested he take Veronica to the movies. She needed to experience the world, Becky pointed out, and she trusted Balthazar more than anyone else.

Halfway through she put her head on his shoulder, the sort of casual touch sorcerers normally balked at, and Balthazar changed his mind.

.

62. Zombie

When Balthazar was twelve, Merlin took him to a field and showed him how to reanimate the dead. The spell was one Balthazar would never master, but not for lack of power- the lesson wasn't in how to bring the dead to life.

When he heard Dave had brought him back, there was a moment of fear that was settled by his own beating heart- reanimated hearts were still. There was a difference between reanimating the permanently dead and reviving the recently dead, but it was a thin line. The thought of Dave crossing it, for _him_, made him sick.

.

64. Gryffin

"It was an experiment," Maxim said earnestly.

"It's eating a horse," Balthazar added from near the window.

"Clearly I did not intend for it to get that big."

"At least it can't fly."

"I started with a barn cat and a prairie falcon. It seemed safe enough."

"Well, maybe it can."

"I've seen you do it before, and nothing like this has ever happened."

"Not very graceful, though."

Merlin tracked both boys' comments with ease, arms folded over his chest and expression thunderous. With every one of Balthazar's observations his scowl deepened. Maxim saw this.

"And it was Balthazar's idea."

.

65. Dryad

The tree stood proud and tall in the center of a clearing off on the eastern end of the recently declared Central Park. Balthazar had been passively watching it for several weeks. Finally he sat down by it one day, settling himself in a manner indicating that he wasn't leaving without getting what he wanted.

"Sorcerer," the tree acknowledged. Its voice was soft and musical.

"If you want to move, I can help," he said simply.

The dryad considered. People made her nervous, but she knew this one's reputation.

"Somewhere with no humans," she said.

"I'll do what I can."

.

67. Sky

Wait for it, he'd been told. It was bitterly cold and he was most likely lost, but he had been told that there was quite a show to see. How they meant him to see it, he had no idea, for it was black as pitch out here, except for one small trace of… green?

Balthazar glanced up and caught his breath as the sky came alive. Colors, greens and blues mostly, flexed and shifted silently across the midnight backdrop. He could even control it, he found, forming patterns and altering colors a shade or two.

Aurora, they called it.

.

71. Conscience

Being a Merlinian was all well and good; fighting for what was right would always be hard but necessary. Balthazar learned that the good guys don't always live happily ever after. The greatest mercy for them is to die young, before reality took its toll.

Experience had smoothed down the sharper edges, stripping away the complicated moral code he once lived by, leaving him with only the basic integrities. Even those he compromised depressingly often. He was a rock on the beach, slowly but surely surrendering to the relentless tide.

The greatest enemy of Good wasn't Evil. It was time.

.

73. Science

When Balthazar was first learning his trade, magic was truly magic and not even the greatest of sorcerers understood it. Sure, they understood how to make things burst into flame, but they had no names for the molecules, and didn't understand what they were and why their vibrations caused fire. To be honest, it didn't matter.

Balthazar watched science grow. He watched as every discovery ran parallel in some way to his own powers. The scientists even taught him a thing or two about the magic they refused to believe in. Science taught him the how to his magic's what.

.

79. Wrath

There was a teenage girl sitting on the bench at the bus stop. Balthazar, waiting for the light to turn green, watched her as she produced a doll and proceeded to jab it with a needle. With each jab, he winced.

"What's wrong?" Dave asked, leaning forward so he could see what Balthazar was looking at. After a moment he gave a disbelieving laugh. "What, voodoo? Come on, Balthazar, you should know that doesn't work."

"Should I?" Balthazar challenged. "You would be amazed how many people like her can get things like that to work just by being angry enough."

.

82. Basement

Three things, Balthazar kept hidden. None were truly his; two were held in trust for someone else, and one was borrowed from Merlin. All of these he kept hidden, more because of what they represented than anything else: freedom, for himself and Veronica, and success. He highly doubted any of the three would ever be used.

He kept them hidden in a cubby hole, normally in the basement. No thief would ever take them- no thief would ever _want_ them, but that was beyond the point. They were important to him, because they were all he had left of hope.

.

85. Door

Three days after Morgana's defeat, Dave kicked Balthazar out of his lab. This led to house hunting, an experience none involved save Balthazar with his twisted sense of humor would ever submit to again.

For reasons never made clear, Balthazar looked at one thing in each house. Veronica would nod and ask questions and Balthazar would look at- the front door. If he didn't like it, they left. No explanations. Dave chalked it up to yet another personality quirk.

First time he visited, when the front door closed and he suddenly _knew_ nothing could get in here uninvited, he understood.

.

91. Sight

It wasn't, as Dave claimed, that he took pleasure out of reminding the boy how much of a gap there was between them. That was understandable; he'd spent more than a thousand years learning all the tricks. No way could Dave catch up. He didn't need to. Not with a million years' practice would Balthazar have been able to beat Morgana, then turn around and revive a dead man.

It was simply that, every time Balthazar thought about Dave beating Morgana, he also recalled the sight of the boy losing a fight with a mop not even twenty-four hours previous.

.

98. Lies

"You know, considering your Merlinian honor code and whatever, you lie a lot."

Balthazar sipped his tea and spared Dave a glance. They were taking a break in training and Dave was reading his Incantus.

"No more than necessary," Balthazar said.

"I guess it would be hard to explain why you don't have a birth certificate to the people at the DMV," Dave allowed. "Born before paper was invented-"

Balthazar nearly choked. "Excuse me? How old do you think I am?"

"Old enough," Dave muttered.

"I lie because I have to," Balthazar growled, tone a warning. "Now back to work."

.


End file.
